USCCB Statements

USCCB Statements on Immigration

In 2003, in response to the call in Pope John Paul II's Ecclesia in America for collaboration among bishops' conferences, the U.S. Catholic Bishops and the Episcopal Conference of Mexico jointly issued a foundational pastoral letter on immigration entitled "Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope."

Since releasing this letter – and launching the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform: Justice for Immigrants in 2005 (as a follow-up to the letter) – the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a number of statements, calling for the passage of compassionate comprehensive immigration reform and the human treatment of immigrants and immigrant detainees.

Some recent and key statements from the U.S. Catholic Bishops follow below.

Statement of Most Reverend Gerald F. Kicanas Bishop of Tucson, Arizona Before The House Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security On Interior Immigration Enforcement Legislation [Download]

September 9, 2014: USCCB letter to the secretary of DHS Jeh Johnson asking for executive actions on deportations [English]

July 7, 2014: Keynote Address by His Eminence Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga Archbishop of Tegucigalpa at the National Migration Conference [English]

June 25, 2014: Testimony of Most Reverend Mark Seitz Bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops On Unaccompanied Children House Judiciary Committee [English] [ Hearing]

"We judge ourselves as a community of faith by the way we treat the most vulnerable among us. The treatment of migrants challenges the consciences of elected officials, policymakers, enforcement officers, residents of border communities, and providers of legal aid and social services, many of whom share our Catholic faith." ~Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope

Mission

As disciples of Jesus Christ, rooted in Gospel values and our rich Catholic social tradition, the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education (OIA&IE) of the Archdiocese of Chicago fulfills the Church’s leadership role of evangelization by welcoming immigrants in Cook and Lake Counties, building communion between immigrants and non-immigrants as brothers and sisters in Christ, and accompanying and empowering immigrants toward their formation and integration as full members of society and people of faith in the one family of God.